In Case You Missed It!

A division of the Maryland Department of Planning (Planning), the Maryland State Data Center (MSDC) is the state’s primary liaison with the U.S. Census Bureau.

MSDC provides Maryland residents, businesses, and local governments with demographic and socioeconomic statistics. It also produces the state’s official population and household projections and develops school enrollment forecasts.

Each fall, the Maryland State Data Center hosts an annual meeting in collaboration with the Census Bureau to highlight new Census data products. At this year’s virtual event, held on October 19, 2022, subject matter experts from the Census Bureau gave presentations to an audience of 60 representatives from Maryland state and local government agencies.

In the opening presentation, the Assistant Division Chief of Census Programs, Mr. Jason Devine, discussed the upcoming release of new data from the 2020 Census and how that data would be presented considering increased concerns about privacy in the digital age.

Staff from the Population and Housing Estimates program described how population counts in the intercensal period (i.e., the years between each ten-year Census) are estimated. Experts also reported on the increased trend in persons working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the American Community Survey (ACS) (one of many Census products), the percent of working-age Marylanders who teleworked or worked from home increased from 5.5 percent in 2019 to 24.5 percent in 2021 (see Figs. 1-2).

A final presentation by staff from the Census Bureau’s Geography department showed how the criteria for defining urban vs. rural areas has changed. One significant difference from previous years involves defining urban areas based on housing unit density. In the past, urban areas were defined by population.

In addition to Census staff presentations, Kanishk Sharma, Planning’s Director of Planning Data and Research, moderated a discussion about potential future partnerships with the Census Bureau.

The Maryland State Data Center makes all presentations and recordings from its events available on the MSDC webpage. Materials from MSDC’s 2022 annual meeting and additional related content can be found here or by clicking below to view the event recording.

For more information about the event or the MSDC, please contact Alfred Sundara, Manager, Projections and State Data Center, at alfred.sundara@maryland.gov